Jason Blum, the creator and CEO behind Blumhouse, reveals the franchises he’d most like to obtain and addresses the future of “Halloween” and “Saw”…
Jason Blum — the creator and CEO behind Blumhouse — has a track record for creating sprawling horror franchises with a series of films that don’t necessarily break the bank to make but rake in money at the box office.
Lately, Blum has seen his studio struggling a little bit with a wave of films that received less than a stellar reception, especially after such high expectations for “M3GAN 2.0,” which effectively flopped at the box office after the first film was a smash hit. That said, Blum still has his hands in some highly successful films such as “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” which he produced alongside Atomic Monster — James Wan’s production company that merged with Blumhouse recently.
Of course, Blum was also responsible for helping to relaunch the “Halloween” franchise with a trio of films directed by David Gordon Green. He was also in the bidding to land the rights to the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” but ultimately missed out with indie darling A24 likely taking control of that franchise.
As one of the most well known studios for producing horror in Hollywood, does Blum have any franchises he would kill to work with in the future?
“Friday the 13th” and Freddy Krueger, those are my two white whales,” Blum told Variety. “We’re always haggling. I make a run at them every day. I will never give up the quest. And if they make one without me, I’ll chase the next movie.”
When it comes to “Halloween,” Blum confirmed that his studio no longer has a deal in place for that franchise, although he’s not opposed to making another of those movies down the road.
“We don’t own the rights anymore,” Blum said. “I had a three-picture deal. But I would do another “Halloween” movie.”
Whether he’s involved or not, “Halloween” is certainly going to rise again, although talks for a potential TV series stalled earlier this year so there’s no word on what’s next for Michael Myers.
One franchise that Blum did land recently was obtaining half the rights to “Saw” with plans to revamp that series of films alongside Wan, who was the director behind the original film with his friend and writer Leigh Whannell.
Blum says work is already underway on reinventing the “Saw” franchise with his secret weapon being the man who started the entire series back in 2004.
“It’s really hard to make 10 movies in a franchise — I don’t take that away from the original series’ producers,” Blum said. “And I’m grateful to them for allowing us to continue. My creative outlook is what I always preach: Get the people who made the magic in the first place more involved.
“James Wan [the original director] will be hugely involved. That’s how we’re going to reinvent it.”
There’s no word yet on when the next “Saw” movie is going to be released but obviously Blumhouse already has plans in mind for the future of that franchise.
As far as other existing IP, Blum did promise that M3GAN would eventually rise again, although he didn’t set any kind of timeline when another of those movies might get made.
